Big Pay Increases Approved For Top Postal Service Officers

Big pay increases approved for top Postal Service officers
BY BILL MCALLISTER

Postmaster General John E. “Jack” Potter and seven other senior United States Postal Service officers have been granted large raises, by the Postal Service board of governors.

The increases were disclosed by the Postal Service Jan. 3 in response to a Freedom of Information Act request filed by Linn’s.

The raises were approved May 2007 retroactive to Jan. 5, 2007, under the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006, which removed the top Postal Service officers from the federal pay cap that restricts the pay of most federal workers to that of no more than the vice president of the United States.

Citing a need to raise the pay of the Postal Service’s top officers, Congress voted in December 2006 to give the postal board of governors authority to boost the pay of up to 12 Postal Service officers up to an amount “not to exceed 120 percent of the vice president’s total annual compensation.” U.S. vice president Dick Cheney is currently paid a salary of $215,700.

The board authorized increases for eight officers.

Potter, the 72nd postmaster general, got the biggest increase. His salary jumped nearly 39 percent to $258,840, up from $186,600 in 2007. That’s an increase of $72,240 and the maximum pay allowed to Postal Service officers.

The pay of Patrick Donahoe, deputy postmaster general and chief operating officer, jumped to $235,000 from $186,000, a 26 percent raise.

The pay of Harold G. Walker, chief financial officer and executive vice president, rose to $215,000, up from $186,000.

The pay of Anita Bizzotto, chief marketing officer and executive vice president, rose to $225,000, up from $183,100.

The pay of Mary Anne Gibbons, general counsel and senior vice president, rose to $215,000, up from $177,800.

William Galligan, senior vice president for operations, saw his pay rise to $215,000, up from $183,100.

Robert Otto, chief technology officer and vice president, saw his pay rise to $205,000, up from $177,800. Otto retired Oct. 1 and a successor has not yet been named.

Potter’s pay had been at the same level as that of cabinet officers, a reflection of the days when the postmaster general was a cabinet post. Cabinet members will be paid $191,300 this year, according to the Office of Personnel Management.

In releasing the salaries, Postal Service officials noted that in 2003 the President’s Commission on the Postal Service called for increasing the pay of top officers to a level competitive with private industry.

The Postal Service also noted that pay of some corporate executives who manage companies with fewer employees than the Postal Service earn far more than Potter will earn. Proctor & Gamble chief executive A.G. Lafley, for example, earns $29 million a year.

It also noted the pay of the executives of two private delivery firms: Frederick W. Smith, CEO of Federal Express earns $8.67 million and Michael L. Eskew of United Parcel Service earns $3.1 million.

The Postal Service also compared Potter’s pay with that of other postal chiefs.